Adams responds to Justice Minister on RTÉ Castlerea Five must be
released

Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams MP, speaking in response to
remarks made by Minister for Justice John O'Donoghue on the
Marian Finucane Show (RTÉ Radio 1) this morning said:

``It is absolutely untrue to say that Sinn Fein was told during
the Good Friday negotiations that the Castlerea prisoners would
be excluded from the Good Friday Agreement prisoner early-release
scheme. These men are covered under the Good Friday Agreement
and should be released now.''

Mr. Adams said:

``John O'Donoghue has made a number of incorrect and misleading
claims in relation to the case of the Castlerea Five. He says
that Sinn Fein negotiators were told during the negotiations that
these men would not quality. I would like to ask the Minister:

Who he believes made those comments?

Where is the clause in the
Good Friday Agreement which excludes them?

``Sinn Fein did raise the case of these prisoners, along with
others. Irish Government representatives said that if these men
were sentenced that their early release would cause difficulties
but Sinn Fein insisted that there could be no exceptions.

``The absence of any clause in the Good Friday Agreement excluding
these particular prisoners is proof of how the negotiations
closed.

``Indeed, the criteria is as contained in the Agreement. The
early-release scheme covers all prisoners who belong to
organisations on cessation at the time of the Agreement.

``The Irish Government is now in breach of the Agreement in
relation to this matter.

``I am very conscious of the pain of this for the McCabe family.
The Castlerea prisoners are not prisoners apart. They qualify
under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement and they should be
released now.''